PROTEIN: A RANT

PROTEIN: A RANT

By Shane Robert

Protein is one topic that people like to obsess over. I know that a lot of my bias comes from anera that overemphasised protein. But the current attitude seems to be in the opposite direction; I see questions all the time about what is the least amount of protein that someone can eat and still make progress. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why. What is this race to the bottom, the desire to do the minimum?

Current research shows that about 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight is sufficient to cover the daily needs of basically everyone. There is likely some additional muscle protein synthetic benefit up to around 1.6 grams per kg of body weight, or about 0.8 grams per pound, for hard training athletes but none really after that (for muscle protein benefits at least), though a very limited amount of research to show that up to 2.2 grams per kg, 1 grams per pound, may be beneficial, albeit likely not for muscle protein synthesis. For perspective, that means that I, weighing around 85kg (187 pounds), can cover all my protein needs with 85 to 135 grams of protein per day. Keep in mind that this includes protein from all sources, not just complete proteins from things like meat and dairy. 

Here’s the thing though: protein is super important for your body because it’s involved in nearly every cellular function. Here are some of the things that it does:

1. Tissue building and repair: Protein is a major building block for your muscles, skin, organs, and other body tissues. When you exercise or get an injury, your body uses protein to repair and rebuild these areas.
2. Enzymes and Hormones: Many enzymes (which help with digestion and other chemical reactions) and hormones (like insulin) are proteins. They regulate everything from metabolism to growth.
3. Immune Function: Proteins are also involved in your immune system. Antibodies, which help protect you from disease, are made from protein.
4. Transport and Storage: Some proteins help transport molecules. For example, hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells, carries oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. Some proteins store iron and other nutrients.
5. Energy Source: While carbs and fats are the body’s preferred energy sources, proteins can also be broken down for energy if needed.
6. Structural Support: Structural proteins like collagen and keratin help form things like skin, hair, and nails, giving them their strength and shape.
7. Regulating Body Processes: Some proteins help with processes like blood clotting, fluid balance, and muscle contractions.

Basically, protein is involved in almost everything your body does and is essential for overall health and function, not just building muscle. This is not to mention that protein has a high satiety value (it makes you feel fuller for longer), it also has a slight metabolic boosting benefit due to the thermic effect of digestion—the amount of energy it takes to digest. Given all of the important roles that protein plays, I don’t want to simply eat the bare minimum based on what some study told me. I want to make sure that I am giving my body all of the protein it needs and then some. Especially if I am counting all protein sources, not just proteins with high protein efficiency ratios and biological values.

The protein efficiency ratio (PER) is a measure that evaluates how well a particular protein source promotes growth in a living organism, particularly in terms of weight gain relative to protein consumption. Relatedly, biological value (BV), which also evaluates how well the body uses protein, takes into account how much of the protein’s nitrogen is retained by the body (a proxy for how much of the protein is used for tissue repair and muscle growth). 

Biological Value (BV) of Different Protein Sources:

Let’s use my own eating as an example of why I think this matters. I eat anywhere from 340-650 grams, measured dry, of jasmine rice per day, depending on how much of a calorie surplus or deficit I am in. That gives me anywhere from 26 to 50 grams of protein from rice alone—a relatively low-quality protein source. If I were at the low end of the range for protein required (85 grams per day), I wouldn’t have much protein left in my day and would easily exceed that daily total with whatever veggies and other starches I eat. What would I eat? Just a bunch of rice and veggies? I can tell you that is not filling and I would be hungry all the time. Plus, I like steak. I like milk. I like eggs, yogurt, chicken, etc. Eating protein closer to 1 gram per pound, or even 1.2 grams, allows me to have a wider variety of foods while enjoying what I eat a lot more.

I love science as much as the next bro, but sometimes that science-based crowd drives me crazy. In their quest to do the “optimal” everything, they tend to miss the forest for the trees. It takes a lot of hard training and hard eating, especially of quality protein, to make long-lasting progress in lifting. I would rather overdo protein than underdo it because, anecdote though this may be, the people I have seen who underdo protein tend to be small and weak, even when they are consuming “optimal” amounts. We have known this for over 100 years! Protein, of all things to overthink, is the stupidest.